A control that mounts a seat support to a base for rocking motion, and a seat which incorporates it.
Persons seated in public seating are frequently impatient and distracted. The realities of the situation are often such that a wait may seem longer and be less pleasant than it really is, or should be. It is an objective of a sympathetic supplier of public seating to make the situation as comfortable, and as pleasant as possible. However, as will be seen, there are limitations as to how far these efforts can go.
Especially in medical and surgical offices, the accommodation of waiting patients and their companions is a significant problem, requiring tolerance and empathy for the discomfort and attitude of ailing and impatient persons who are often impaired or otherwise suffering from worry and concern for themselves and for others dear to them, and who are impatient with delays. Beyond this compassionate concern is the sensible objective of providing them with safe and accessible seating structures which will support them without adding to their miseries, and from which they can rise without unnecessary additional discomfort.
As to their comfort, when they are seated, it is usually best for their feet to rest directly on the floor without constricting circulation of the blood to the legs. For patients with many of the most frequent ailments, it is also useful to provide seat motion that can be restful or distracting. A rocking motion is an example. However for other types of ailments, such as some heart problems, such motion should be avoided because of the possibility of a fright reaction when the person sits down on a chair which yields and rocks. A control according to this invention can prevent or allow the rocking motion.
Sanitation in all public seating, medical and otherwise, is a serious concern. Ease of cleaning, such as by steam cleaning and wash-down with astringent solutions are objectives which often cannot be met without severely damaging the seat, for example its upholstery. It is an object of this invention to provide a control which can be sanitized without disassembly or damage.
Unyielding structures, and structures that rock but are not self-limiting, and which require steadiness of the occupant are not only uncomfortable, but often are risky and alarming to a patient in a doctor""s waiting room who needs sensible restraint. For example, some coronary patients require firm stability, and some patients with balance disorders are distressed by a movable support.
It is an object of this invention to provide a seat control that provides sensibly deflectable support which can, if desired, be adapted for limited rocking motion with minimal changes in the alignment of the user""s seat, legs and back.
In addition, the rocking elements can preferably either be locked out or eliminated entirely for use in situations where the user would possibly be alarmed by movement of the structure. Heart disease patients constitute an example of such people.
A control according to this invention is used to mount a support to a base. The control preferably provides for a knee action tilt movement that enables the support to engage in a rocking motion. Optionally, this movement may be disabled (or not provided at all) so that the support could be locked to the base in a selected alignment.
One useful base has two laterally spaced apart struts, with two legs each that contact the floor, with an intersection forwardly of the midpoint between their points of contact with the ground.
The support is intended comfortably to receive the seated person. It includes a bottom and a back. While both the bottom and the back may be made of rigid material, this invention enables the use of flexible material for both which is able to afford at least some conformation with the user.
The support is mounted to the base by the control which is supported by the base beneath the support. The control preferably is mounted between bridging cross arms extending between two sides of the support. The support is thereby mounted to and above the base with the capacity either to rock relative to the base, or to be locked or otherwise held in one position above the base. A second set of bridging cross arms extends between the struts.
In one useful application of this control, the forward edge of the bottom is curled downwardly, with a radius which will allow an average person to sit on the bottom with his or her feet flat on the floor, comfortably and without restrictive compressive pressure on the bottom of the legs under the knee. Especially when the control permits rocking movement, the user can leave the seat while his or her feet are flat on the ground, and will not tend to tumble or slip when the support tilts forwardly. This enables a safe and comfortable exit from the seat.
The control includes a reference pivot rigidly fixed relative to the base. Its axis of rotation is located near the center of the radius of the lip of the bottom of the support, and by this arrangement is under the knee. This control enables such an arrangement.
The support""s center of gravity is behind the reference pivot, so that with or without the capacity to rock, the user""s center of gravity will be behind the pivot point. When rocking motion is to be enabled, the control comprises a control arm fixed to the support and rotatably mounted to the base, a stiff flexure comprising a cantilever arm rigidly mounted to the base, and a contactor rigidly mounted to the support and in contact with the cantilever arm. The unloaded contact of the contactor and the cantilever arm biases the support toward its upright position.
According to still another preferred but optional feature of this invention, all of the parts of the control are constructed of materials that will not be damaged by water, steam, or by conventional sanitizing solutions.
The above and other features of this invention will be fully understood from the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings, in which: